In order to miniaturize mobile communication devices such as mobile phones, a construction in which an internal antenna and a speaker are coupled and modulized has been known. U.S. Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005/24273 discloses a construction in which a flat speaker and a planar antenna are coupled. Korea Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-33764 discloses a construction regarding an antenna attached to the bottom of a speaker.
FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of an antenna-integrated speaker disclosed in Korea Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-33764. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the antenna-integrated speaker includes an antenna 50 attached to the bottom of a speaker 30, so that the antenna 50 and the speaker 30 are integrally formed with each other. In this construction, a radiation patch 51 is attached to the bottom of a speaker bottom 31 which is a nonconductor. Thus, it is inevitable that the shape of the radiation patch 51 is limited depending on the shape and size of the speaker bottom 31. It makes it difficult to adjust a resonant frequency and bandwidth of electromagnetic waves transmitted and received through the antenna 50.
Accordingly, it is preferred that an antenna unit including dielectric material and a radiator be fabricated in a desired shape and size, a speaker unit be fabricated depending on the shape and size of the antenna unit, and the antenna unit and the speaker unit be then coupled. Such coupling of the antenna unit and the speaker unit can be accomplished through ultrasonic fusion or bond adhesion, which can be easily implemented by those having ordinary skill in the art.
In the coupling of the antenna unit and the speaker unit through ultrasonic fusion, however, the speaker is influenced due to the use of ultrasonics, causing failure in the speaker. There are also problems in that a production cost is high and productivity is low because ultrasonic fusion equipment must be used.
Furthermore, in the coupling of the antenna unit and the speaker unit through bond adhesion, a production time is excessively long and uniform bond coating at an adhered portion is difficult. Gas leaking from the bond gives damage to the external appearance, which requires an additional process of cleaning the damaged external appearance. Further, the gas is detrimental to a manufacturer.
Furthermore, the coupling of the antenna unit and the speaker unit using ultrasonic fusion or bond adhesion is problematic in that there may be a gap between the antenna unit and the speaker unit. Sound generated from the speaker escapes through the gap between the antenna and the speaker as well as an intended sound transfer path from the speaker to a user. In other words, sound generated from the speaker is distributed, and sound reaching to the user is unclear. This problem is not limited to the clearness of a ring tone, but is also related to a solution for securing an improved sound quality in a user's sound listening since the MP3 player is mounted in a mobile communication device.